Every once and awhile I’ll get a call from a former client or colleague who has started a new market research job. They will be in their first role as a research director or VP with a client-side organization. As they are now in a position to set their organization’s research agenda, they ask for my thoughts on how to structure their research spending. I have received calls like this about a dozen times over the years.

I advise these researchers that two types of research stand above all others, and that their initial focus should be to get them set up correctly. The first is tracking their product volume. Most organizations know how many products they are producing and shipping, but it is surprising to see how many lose track of where their products go from there. To do a good job, marketers must know how their products move through the distribution system all the way to their end consumer. So, that becomes my first recommendation: know precisely whom is buying and using your products at every step along the way, in as much detail as possible.

The second type of research I suggest is customer satisfaction research. Understanding how customers use products and measuring their satisfaction is critical. Better yet, the customer satisfaction measuring system should be prescriptive and indicate what is driving satisfaction and what is detracting from it.

Most marketing decisions can be made if these two types of research systems are well-designed. If a marketer has a handle on precisely whom is using their products and what is enhancing and detracting from their satisfaction, most of them are smart enough to make solid decisions.

When pressed for what the third type of research should be, I usually would say that qualitative research is important. I’d put in place a regular program of in-person focus groups or usability projects, and compel key decision makers to attend them. I once consulted for a consumer packaged goods client and discovered that not a single person in their marketing department had spoken directly with a consumer of their products in the past year. There is too much of a gulf between the corporate office and the real world sometimes, and qualitative research can help close that void.

Only when these three things are in place and being well-utilized would I recommend that we move forward with other types of research projects. Competitive studies, new product forecasting, advertising testing, etc. probably take up the lion’s share of most research budgets currently. They are important, but in my view should only be pursued after these first three types of research are fully implemented.

Many research departments get distracted by conducting too many projects of too many types. A focus is important. When decision makers have the basic numbers they need and are in tune with their customer base, they are in a good position to succeed, and it is market research’s role to provide this framework.